Any time government services are slow, the public pays an additional tax, Gov. Bill Haslam told the Tennessee Digital Government Summit in Nashville June 5, 2012, when explaining the intersection between technology and government services. Sometimes slow services is due to poor technology or employees not pulling their weight, he said. “When we don’t give [...]

Following the conclusion of the 2012 Tennessee General Assembly’s regular session, Republican Governor Bill Haslam and the Republican speakers of the House and Senate — Beth Harwell and Ron Ramsey — spoke with reporters about their impressions of the legislative session.

Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, the Democratic Leader in the Tennessee House, says the state has more revenues at its disposal than legislative Republicans and the Haslam administration are letting on publicly. That ought to mean bigger cuts to the state’s tax on groceries and a broader discussion about avoiding or restoring cuts to programs that help [...]

Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, insists the Legislature will pass a bill that would eliminate the tax on large gifts, although the governor did not add the measure into his latest budget proposal. The move will mean a loss of $15 million a year. But Harwell said she doesn’t yet know specifically how the [...]

Termed-out Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen never pushed for an income tax increase but said in anyone ever does, it should be to pay for something — not to dig the state out of debt. For more, go to www.tnreport.com